CHICAGO — The question hasn’t been finished and Chicago Bears rookie Ka’Deem Carey already is laughing because he has heard the number.

Forty.

It’s reflex.

Say the number, Carey laughs.

Since February, 40 is the number he has been asked about most often, the number that took his impressive career as a running back at the University of Arizona and punctuated it with a question mark.

At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Carey sputtered through his 40-yard dash. He just didn’t explode.

One straight line sprint. Stop watches clicking. Scrutiny inevitable.

His official time came in at 4.70 seconds, 27th best among the 35 running backs who participated at the event.

A week-and-a-half later, he tried again at Arizona’s pro day and improved his time — but only minimally, to a 4.66.

Suddenly, that’s all many folks want to ask about with some variation of the same question.

So, Ka’Deem, what response do you have for critics who were put off by your 40 time?

Are you concerned about what you showed in the 40?

How do you explain what happened with that 40?

Carey’s laugh often features a shrug.

“My 40 time was my 40 time,” he says this time. “I guess I needed to work on my start.”

His apparent lack of concern? If a lack of elite speed was a major problem for him, he wouldn’t have all those other numbers to boast about from his final two college seasons — 3,814 rushing yards, 5.8 yards per carry average, 44 total touchdowns.

That’s the type of production the Bears believed in when they drafted Carey in the fourth round. And the rookie running back is confident his new team made a smart investment.

“Football? 40 speed? I think football is about quickness,” Carey says. “You never run just 40 yards in a straight line. You have to make a move, then go. That’s where I feel best. Stop, then go.”

Besides, Carey believes those 4.70 seconds of his life — slow as they may seem — should not trump the countless hours of “hungry running” he put on tape at Arizona, using feel and instinct and power to stampede through defenses.

The Bears dissected Carey’s skill set and came away believers in his feet and vision, excited about the way the 5-foot-9, 207-pound back lowers his pads yet keeps his balance to plow for extra yardage.

“The way I look at it, I got the ball (48) times against Oregon. That’s a pounding,” he says. “I’m actually excited I don’t have to get it that many times, that I can slowly work into this system. … Working behind Forte and seeing how he does things may be the best thing ever to happen to me.”

Emerging as the Bears’ No. 2 running back also will require a sharp focus on pass protection, a top prerequisite for Trestman. Carey isn’t fully proven in that area. But the consensus at Halas Hall is that he has the right combination of toughness and reactive instincts to get there.

Carey says he quickly came to understand the Bears’ intense emphasis on pass blocking during a workout for Kromer, running backs coach Skip Peete and scout Mark Sadowski shortly before the draft.

Carey was sent to a whiteboard and grilled on pass protection principles. He felt a connection.

And when his reunion with the Bears staff came at rookie camp, he reminded himself over and over to focus on his pass blocking fundamentals.

Then during three days of practices, Carey kept his feet shuffling and his head on a swivel in the backfield.

“But they didn’t throw one blitz at me,” he says. “The full three days. I was a little confused. I’m like, ‘You want me to work on pass protection and you don’t throw one blitz?’ I’m eager for those blitzes to come so I can pick it up and see how fast they come and get used to the process ASAP.”

Carey’s eagerness quickly is leaving an impression. But his character will face added scrutiny as he transitions to the pros. That, he understands, will be inevitable for the foreseeable future given the misdemeanor charges of assault and disorderly conduct he faced after an argument with his female roommate, a former girlfriend, in December 2012.

According to a report from the Arizona Daily Star, a petition against Carey contended that during the dispute, the running back was looking for a lighter to smoke an illegal substance, tried forcing his way into the woman’s room, slammed her fingers in the door and knocked her to the floor.

Carey insists he did nothing wrong and all charges eventually were dropped.

“All I can tell people is things happen,” he says. “As long as you learn off those things, learn from your mistakes and grow as a young man and prove you can move forward, it will be OK.”

Still, the Bears assert they did their full due diligence in assessing Carey’s character and maturity. General manager Phil Emery continues to be a big believer in second chances and has scored big rolling the dice on guys with troubled pasts such as Brandon Marshall and Kyle Long.

The hope is Carey can follow a similar trail.

“The most important thing is are you trying to get back on path and go the right way?” Emery says. “Are you trying to improve as a person? We certainly were very comfortable with his honesty about past situations that he has had and we’re certainly comfortable he’s on the right path.”

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